Nick Kyrgios (Watson, ACT), 17, and Andrew Harris (Blackburn, Vic), 18, have won their second junior Grand Slam title in a matter of weeks after claiming the boys’ doubles event at the Wimbledon Junior Championships in London overnight.
The fourth seeds defeated Italian duo Matteo Donati (ITA) and Pietro Licciardi (ITA) in straight sets, 6-2 6-4, adding to their French Open boys’ doubles title recorded in June.
On the way to the final the Australian pair posted straight set victories over Borna Coric (CRO) and Pedja Krstin (SRB), Gabriel Friedrich (BRA) and Daniel Santos (PER), Luke Bambridge (GBR) and Kaichi Uchida (JPN) before defeating sixth seeds Juan Ignacio Galaza and Mateo Nicolas Martinez from Argentina in the semis.
‘’It feels amazing to be able to back up the French [Open] and win at Wimbledon on a bigger stage. It was a great experience and we’re stoked,’’ said Harris post match.
‘’I was a bit more nervous here than at the French Open because we were playing on a bigger court but it sort of hit me when we came out and the whole crowd was clapping.”
“After the warm up and the first couple of games passed we focused on what we had to do out there and in the end we got the win,’’ added Kyrgios.
Kyrgios and Harris are the sixth Australian pair to win the boys’ doubles title at Wimbledon with Ben Elwood and Mark Philippoussis having last had the honours in 1994.
In the boys’ singles, Luke Saville (Barmera, SA) was unable to retain his junior crown, going down to fourth seed Filip Peliwo of Canada in the final at the All England Club.
Saville started strongly with a 5-2 lead before Peliwo put up a gallant effort fighting back to win the first set.
It was a similar story in the second set with Saville having an early break before the Canadian dug deep, breaking back to defeat the defending champion 7-5 6-4, winning the championship in one hour and 32 minutes.
Peliwo’s win made it a double victory for Canadian tennis after fellow countrywoman Eugenie Bouchard won the girls’ singles title on Saturday.
Despite the result Saville was pleased with the way he had played all week and to reach the final.
“I’m disappointed I couldn’t finish it off today obviously. I played five great matches this tournament and I was feeling really good throughout it,” said Saville.
“Apart from me not playing my absolute best, I’ve got to give full credit to Filip. He was by far the better player out there today. He handled the occasion really well,” Saville continued.
“I’ve come back here and I’ve grabbed a few more great experiences like today and I’m hoping to use these to build my game.”
The South Australian will return to Australia for a week off before he heads across to Asia to play a couple of Challenger events.
Kyrgios, Harris and Saville are part of the AIS Pro Tour Program which supports the transition of junior players into senior ranks. Athletes are offered world class coaching, comprehensive sports science and medical support.
For more information on Wimbledon and junior news please visit wimbledon.com and tennis.com.au.
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